"Were you even listening seriously?"
I stood at the cell door. If I could get inside, I would've already helped Logan the Living Buddha break the formation. The array was set up within the cell. Earlier, I kicked the door several times, but it didn't budge. Whenever I tried to use force, my power would instantly become chaotic and dissipate upon contact with the door. My foot was already beginning to ache.
"Why don't you give it another try, Miss Ruoxi? You're pretty strong—maybe if you keep kicking, the door will give way!"
Looking at Logan inside, fat and big-eared in his monk's robes, I really didn't want to say anything more. I'd been explaining for two hours, and he still acted clueless. My anger was rising fast—I was tempted to just leave him and walk out.
"Kick your own damn head. If I could break it down, I would've done it already. Can't you try to focus? It's simple: just sense the yin and yang, record each point, and when the time comes, find the matching point. I'll give you my blood, and you break the formation to get out."
Logan rested his massive head in his hands, leaning back with the attitude of a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
"Ugh, what a hassle. I really don't like dealing with these brain-twisting things."
I stared at Logan in disbelief.
"Didn't you study the Buddhist scriptures and manage to fool all the lamas here?"
Logan picked his nose, his chubby fingers stretching his nostril wide. He grunted in a muffled voice.
"I just memorized everything by rote. Whenever someone asked, I'd spout whatever sounded vaguely related to the scriptures. I made it all up. They know I'm the Living Buddha, so whatever I say must be profound—they believe it. Then I tell them to seek enlightenment themselves. These lamas are so rigid, easy to trick."
"I don't believe you."
I stared blankly at Logan as he lazily yawned.
"Doesn't matter if you believe me or not, Miss Ruoxi. You have no idea how important the Living Buddha is to them on this land. It's all about faith, faith. You have your own beliefs too, don't you? Anyway, I'm going to let my consciousness fade for a while. Miss Ruoxi, just be careful. The dead who deliver food and water come about every five hours. Time it right, and you can look around. There are six levels here, all holding evil spirits. I've only never been to the bottom. There's a woman locked up here like you."
I gasped, staring at Logan in disbelief.
"Where is she?"
"Probably on the level below. I'm not sure. She used to be locked up next to you years ago, but then they moved her to the bottom. The evil energy around her is far more terrifying than yours."
I swallowed hard.
I looked around warily, planning to return to my cell and wait until the dead who deliver food and water left. Then I'd sneak down to the lower level to take a look.
After a short rest, the lamas who delivered food and water left once they'd dropped off their things. I released my grip on the door panel, then carefully set it aside and glanced around.
"Logan, which way leads down?"
I asked, but when I turned to look, Logan was already snoring, drooling in his sleep. It was the first time I'd seen a Possessing Ghost sleep like this.
There was no point worrying about it. The corridor wasn't long, and the corpses had come down from the right, so I headed left. Each cell I passed was empty—no people, no ghosts. I was puzzled, but after a while, I found a stairway leading down. I carefully took an oil lamp from the wall, shielding it with my hand as I descended. The air was damp and musty, and though I sensed nothing, I moved cautiously.
I had no idea what kind of ghosts were imprisoned below. Their heart-wrenching howls had kept me from sleeping well. After a while, I reached the lowest level. It was wet and slippery—I nearly fell. Crouching down, I felt a chill in the moisture on the ground, likely due to leaking ghostly energy. The strong formation here had forced the ghost energy into water, pressing it into the floor so it couldn't dissipate. To test my theory, I lit a crimson flame. It crackled, and the vapor immediately evaporated.
"I'm actually pretty smart."
I grinned as I stood up. After all, I'd learned so much over the years—my father had crammed all sorts of things into my head, insisting I'd need them someday.
The lowest level had only a few cells, much smaller than above. After a few steps, I noticed a large cell on the left, twice the width of mine. What shocked me most was the black ghostly mist, like vapor, leaking from the bars in thin, rope-like tendrils. I approached slowly, swallowed hard, and peered inside. I was stunned—the room was littered with human bones. Atop the pile sat a ghost with disheveled hair, clutching half a skeleton as he slept. I looked closer: the bones were irregular, gnawed and broken, some marked with teeth.
"Little girl outside, how did you get here?"
Suddenly, a heavy, drifting female voice sounded behind me. I jumped, nearly dropping the oil lamp. I swallowed and turned, trying to look composed. She was an ordinary woman with braided hair, but her face was pale and haggard, her eyes lifeless and a bit fierce. I asked her a question.
"Miss, how did you end up imprisoned here?"
The woman shook her head with a bitter smile.
"I chased my enemy all the way here and finally found them, but the lamas were unreasonable and locked me up. They said if I could let go of my hatred and banish my inner demons, I'd be released. Ha, laughable and shallow. Little girl, can you help me?"
I swallowed again. I didn't recognize her, but her appearance seemed familiar. Just then, I noticed a flash of bright light inside the cell—I leaned closer and saw a silver Tibetan knife placed by the bed.
"Are you Taotie?"
I asked, though I wasn't sure. She reminded me of one of the five odd figures Zhang Qingyuan had mentioned from the Forest of Desire. The woman's eyes widened in surprise.
"You know me, little girl?"
I nodded.
"Qingyuan told me about you before."
Taotie looked at me with growing excitement in her eyes.
"I'm Zhang Qingyuan's wife. My name is Lan Ruoxi. Thank you for your help before, Taotie, in the Forest of Desire. Qingyuan always talks about you five. Sadly, he's only met Ma Yongjie—he doesn't know where the others are. He really wants to thank you all properly."
"Did Zhang Qingyuan come here too?"
I shook my head, a wave of sadness washing over me. She was Zhang Qingyuan's friend—I felt I should tell her something about him. After a moment, Taotie lowered her head, sorrow flickering in her eyes.
"I didn't expect such things to happen. Ruoxi, I'm sorry. If we were still there, maybe we could help Zhang Qingyuan. After all, he led us out of the Forest of Desire."
I shook my head, sniffled, then smiled.
"It's okay. Qingyuan is alive and well somewhere else. He'll have a chance to return to the living world."
Taotie didn't ask further, but her gaze grew serious as she stared at the ghost in the cell opposite.
"What's going on with that one, Sister Taotie? Is that ghost your enemy?"
Murderous intent flashed in Taotie's eyes as she nodded.
"That bastard slaughtered all my kin, my husband, and my child. I only entered the Forest of Desire because of him, but I gained the power to defeat him. Unfortunately, these lamas trapped me here, believing I've violated their teachings. They hope I'll repent and purge my inner demons."
I blinked, confused.
"Sister Taotie, why did they lock me up here?"
I asked, and Taotie shook her head.
"You'll have to ask Lama Sangji. He's the current Living Buddha here. You've probably met him—the oldest one."
I nodded. He was the lama who knocked me out.
"Since you managed to get out, you must know something about the formation. Can you teach me?"
I agreed, then began explaining the formation in my cell to Taotie. Though I hadn't seen the one in Logan's cell clearly, it was the same as mine. I brought the oil lamp closer, holding two lamps as Taotie searched the stone wall. I described the yin and yang, but when I saw the formation inside, I was surprised—it was completely different from mine. I felt awkward; I couldn't read Sanskrit.
"Sister Taotie, I can't read the Sanskrit, and this formation isn't like the one above. It's a bit troublesome."
As I spoke, Taotie smiled, then turned to me.
"I can read it. I'll explain the meaning to you. I can sense the yin and yang parts too."
I nodded happily, smiling. As long as I understood the meaning, I could figure out the formation's principles.